Our yoga teacher trainees are always a diverse group of people — all coming from different walks of life to pursue the same thing: a higher understanding of the practice of yoga, and the ability to share it. But, not everyone pursues this for the same reason (there is definitely no "right" or "wrong" reason!) — for some it's the culmination of years of interest in the practice, and for others, it can be a spur of the moment pursuit of passion. We encourage anyone with a true interest in deepening their relationship with yoga to take our Yoga Teacher Training class. Here's the story behind one of our current yoga teacher trainees, Stephanie, and what brought her to the class and what she hopes to get out of it. We'll get another update from Stephanie about halfway through the class, and then another at the end!

Hi friends! I’m Stephanie, and I’m a yoga teacher trainee in the current winter 2018 class. Joining was a pretty last-minute decision for me. (I signed up about 18 hours before the first class started ha.) I have wanted to try it for years, but I wanted to get “better” at yoga first. You know, be more flexible, not get lost in the middle of a sequence, and not resort to child’s pose basically every 5 minutes ... I am an infrequent and kind of lazy yogi — I will go to a class maybe once a month, and I like the classes where I don’t have to move too much. Yoga has been more about stretching and relaxing for me and less about strengthening and working out. I’ve always wanted a more consistent relationship with yoga though, so one of my 2018 New Year’s resolutions was #yogaeverydamnday. I made it 6 days.

My life was super different a month ago — I was happy and excited about the prospect of a great new year. But then I got punched in the face by life, as it tends to do when things are going just a little too well. I suddenly found myself faced with some difficult decisions, and I was super stressed out. Then my friend signed up for YTT and asked me to do it with her 6 days before the class started. I was pretty torn and struggling with too many decisions, so I reached out to a friend who has been through the program. I was encouraged that while it was intense and difficult at times, it was a great experience that would change me and the way I interact with myself and others.

Steph training with her fellow Yoga Teacher trainees.

So I guess I’m hoping for two things from YTT: a more committed relationship with yoga, and some kind of personal change. I don’t want to define that too much though, because I don’t want a specific expectation to control the experience. I’m definitely nervous to start this while I’m dealing with so much stress in my personal life, but ya know, sometimes you just have to jump in, I guess. Oh, also it would be cool if I could do a handstand or something because Instagram.

Stay tuned for more updates from Stephanie, throughout her Yoga Teacher Training experience.